Visit from Fran's parents!

We had the pleasure of a brief visit by Fran's parents, Cresencia and Antonio, for lunch on Sunday. This was only Cresencia's second visit ever to Oaxaca City. She basically never leaves her remote village. But on this occasion, she decided to come along with Antonio on the nickel of a corrupt politician in their region. He pays villagers $200 pesos ($11.34) to show up at the Zocalo to demonstrate on his behalf once a year. He brings them in by the vanload, stuffing in 15 people, cheek-by-jowl for the 6 hour ride in the heat. The journey isn't free, nor is their food. They return home with basically nothing to show for it except, in this case, a visit with their daughter.

It is hard for us to imagine how hard Cresencia's life is, as a woman in a traditional indigenous pueblo, where women are little more than slaves to men. Cresencia's husband, Antonio, is not the cause of her suffering.  In fact the rest of the village makes fun of him for helping her so much. 

The cause of her suffering is her three brothers. Now that their mother is old and sick, likely not far from death's door, Cresencia is now responsible for doing all the making of tortillas (an onerous and physically-taxing job in itself) cooking, cleaning, and errands for her brothers. Fran tells me she is anxious for her mother's health because of this burden.

At one point recently, the brothers didn't think their sister was doing enough, or doing it willingly enough, so they reported her to the town council. All men, of course. She was fined $100 Pesos and ordered by the community to step it up. If she does not, she will be fined again, or worse.

Fran's father, Antonio, was right to suggest that Fran leave the village and make a better life for herself. Her sister, now about 26, followed in her mother's footsteps and now has 4 children, a lazy and alcoholic husband, and a lifetime ahead of grueling work. But still, she thinks Fran has done wrong to leave, that she has ruined her life because she still is not married.

Cresencia speaks only Cuicateco, though she seems to understand a few Spanish words. Antonio speaks fairly good Spanish. But there were several times when Fran and her mother were conversing in their native tongue and I was entranced at how beautiful it sounded. The very name of Cuicatlan was given by the Aztecs when they passed through the region. The word refers to the musical sound of the language.

We ate French Toast (which they had never sampled), bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice and scrambled eggs. Both of them ate for three! I would have had to take a siesta after such a meal, but they were soon packing up to go back out in the 95+ degree heat and meet up with the demonstrators in the Zocalo. Then pile into the sardine can for the journey home.

Fran is gearing up for her final project presentations and exams. She hopes to pass Statistics so she doesn't have to take it this summer. She would rather take violin lessons!

Her life never stops, and she has to do it all in unbelievable heat these days. School, homework, work, housecleaning, English class, homework, it never ends.

Now that the President of Mexico has cancelled all the scholarships for Master's degrees (aimed at the poor to keep them from competing), our plan for Fran's future has received a serious blow. She has been working especially hard to keep her grade point average high so that she would qualify for the scholarship, but now that doesn't seem to matter. I don't want her to lose hope, and I don't want either of us to be discouraged. 

She thinks it will cost between $7,000 pesos and $15,000 pesos per semester (about $400 - $850) for her master's degree in agronomy. So that's 4 semesters. That doesn't include board and housing, which of course is much, much less here than in the States.

I don't think it is too soon to send out an appeal, even though this emergency will not occur for 2.5 or 3 years. It will still occur. At that point, she will move out of my apartment and go to the school of her choice for the Master's, hopefully Chapingo outside of Mexico City. It makes my heart beat fast just to think about it!

So if you think you might be able to chip in funds for that 2-year period coming up, when she will need roughly $2,000 per year, (only $2,000 -- imagine!)  please consider putting some money away for her and letting me know what we can count on.  Of course I will give exact figures as soon as we gather them.

Perhaps you can bring a friend into the circle of Fran's supporters? Let me know if I can add them to my mailing list for this blog, OK?

After Fran gets her Master's, she will be on her own. If she goes to Chapingo, she's pretty much guaranteed a job somewhere in Mexico. She will be highly qualified. If she does not go on for her masters, she could easily end up working in a coffee shop and struggling for the rest of her life. It's more or less like that in the States too now, I imagine.

I will continue to endeavor to keep up this blog more often! Both of our lives have been very busy, and recently the added stress of a nasty landlord who doesn't treat Fran very well. There is a lot of racism and classism here in Oaxaca, unfortunately. Gringos seldom see it on their short visits, but you don't have to live here long to realize what's going on. Fran escaped the fate that was waiting for her as a young indigenous woman. I want to make sure there is no possibility that anyone will ever pull her down again.

Best wishes from Oaxaca!
Lorena and Fran

Third Year and Still Going Strong!

Fran on an outing at San Agustin Etla last month

A beautiful young woman!

Enjoying our day, Etla Market

Fran is just starting the second semester of her third year at the engineering school, Instituto Technologico del Valle de Oaxaca (ITVO) in Xoxo, a community 30 minutes south of Oaxaca City.

Since she changed majors, it's actually her second year as an agronomy student. This semester she is taking a heavy load: Statistics, Agricultural Topography, Agricultural Production, Rural Sociology, Animal Physiology and Plant Physiology.

As always, her learning curve includes far more than her academic course of study. She has had the opportunity to learn much from contact with our Airbnb/Craigslist short-term roommates which we very much need to help pay the rent and meet expenses. Each guest contributes some small lesson, a bright idea, expertise, encouragement. And Fran has had her disappointments and trials as we all do. 

Those of you who have been following this blog are aware of where she came from, and the implications of her current aspirations set against the background of the rural, isolated life of her childhood, which was extremely limited in terms of resources and opportunities. But each trial has made her stronger, taught her something important, and etched more definition into her understanding of the new world to which she has committed herself.

I continue to feel privileged to watch the unfolding of this strong, curious, ambitious young woman, and we are both thankful for the small community of friends that faithfully support her efforts to learn and grow, and make a strong foundation for her future.  

Many thanks!

Request for Specific Funding

Saludos from Oaxaca,

NOTE:  Re Fran's health -- she found out, to our great relief that her health is covered until she graduates.  So no need for financial help there.

However, there are three things that have developed / presented themselves in Fran's life that I would love to see addressed if any of you would like to contribute.  I will put them in order of priority as I explain them.

1.  ENGLISH: Needs $17.50 PER MONTH FOR 2 YEARS
This needs no explaining.  It is a requirement of her school, and they do not provide classes.  Fran has tried Cambridge, which proved to be too expensive.  Then she tried Benito Juarez University classes, which proved to be unbelievably bad and inadequate (and cheap). And now a group of similarly frustrated students at her school have gotten together and found their own teacher to give them a group lesson.  It will cost 500 pesos per month (currently $29.46 dollars).  Her friend the dentist has agreed to pay $200 pesos per month, which leaves only $300 (currently $17.67 dollars).  She needs this monthly amount for 2 years.  If you can help with this, please let me know, and whether you prefer to pay via Paypal or bank check, how often.  It may be more convenient to pay every semester (4 months) unless you want to set up an automatic monthly payment. 

2. VIOLIN LESSONS: $17.50 PER MONTH ON TRIAL BASIS -- 3 to 6 months for starters?
OK, so this is not a NEED, unless you consider that to maintain one's mental/emotional/spiritual health in a high stress course of study that one benefits greatly from violin lessons...especially if it has been on your wish list since childhood!  :)  This pays for 4 hours per week, and includes the violin, though she cannot take it home.  But she find out how much she loves it from this trial run, and whether she wants to switch to guitar, another instrument she wants to learn.  If you would like to give her money for 3 to 6 months worth of lessons, that would be great.  At the end of that time, we will know a lot more.

3. THREE DAY WORKSHOP, OCTOBER 23, 24, 25  $2,000 PESOS ($117 dollars) --see explanation below

This is a class that compliments greatly, but is not offered at her school.  It focuses on native foods and ways to preserve and ferment them, knowledge and skills that she could use to start a business, as well as to teach to others.  It is a new interest in Oaxaca, one that is garnering a lot of attention, and I would love to see her on the cutting edge.  I am sure others will take the ball and run with it, and I want her to be able to run right alongside them.

THAT'S IT!
Thank you for considering these needs and wants.  Please be in touch by email (lcassady@gmail.com) if you have any questions or would like contribute.

With love and gratitude from Oaxaca,
Lorena (and Fran)

Photos of Fran taken Yesterday on a trip to the Pochote Organic Market

Fran is attending the opera and wants a violin...

I know I just posted, but I couldn't resist this new development!
Fran is going through a pretty profound change of life, a turning point born of disillusionment and several "aHA" moments piled on top of each other. You know how that goes, right?

By the time I confided in her my opinion (today) that college education provides no more than 30% of a total education, she already understood. Despairing of the limited horizons and interests of her younger college friends (she is almost 24, most of them are about 19), she has suddenly got up the courage / is desperate enough to foray out into the world solo to attend events that interest her. As I write this, she is at a live, 3-hour OPERA for the second evening in a row!

She also announced (not for the first time) that she wants a violin! She's mentioned a violin about 12 times, and a guitar about twice. It is a skill she wants to develop, and I think it would lead to good places in her life.  She is very disciplined, and goes a bit nuts when there is nothing to do...

So if you happen to have a used violin in the attic...

No more Braces!

Fran's braces are gone!  Here is the beautiful result!

Dear Reader,

The marvelous changes in Fran's life continue to unfold! After a little after two years, her friend Luis, the dentist, finally said it was time to remove her braces and replace them with clear plastic molds to keep her teeth in place for about a year.  Otherwise, he says, they will migrate.

She is now wrapping up a summer school class in Micro Botanic biology, and after a 2-week break will begin her 3rd year!  Her term of study will take more than 4 years because, as you will remember, she changed her major from Computer Science to Agronomy at the beginning of last year.

She told me recently that she will have no health coverage when she reaches her 24th birthday (coming up!) and that concerned me.  For the short period of time that she was eligible, she has taken full advantage, getting up to date on her vaccinations, blood tests, and the limited physical examinations they provide here.  But if something should happen. an accident or serious illness, I have no reserves to pay for her hospital bills or medicine.

I wanted to consult with you about the best way to provide for Fran in this way -- possibly a separate health savings account, or an expression of willingness to help should such a situation arise.

Fran is young and changing! Because of the garrulity of her "boss," the dentist Luis, and the totality of her observations and experience, she is really blossoming into an enthusiastic, socially competent and engaging personality.  Some of you have already seen this, but it continues to develop.  For instance I have been sick with Montezuma's revenge for at least a week (I think the antibiotics finally knocked it out today) and so when our new roomer arrived from Japan, Fran completely stepped in as minister of information.  She gave her the tour, explaining every detail of what she (her name is Kyoko) needed to know to be comfortable here, took her to the market the next day, and continues to answer her questions.

You are not here to witness this continuing miracle, and I should do better to inform you.  I think I say that every blog entry!  I wish I had the power to give Fran everything she needs for her future, but the fact is I don't.  And that is why I am so grateful that you are out there, faithfully supporting this deserving young woman.

All my love and kind regards,

Lorena

May 2015 Update

(See video below) Fran and I have both been so busy!  I feel I have neglected these blog posts, and have resolved to write more regularly.   I may have failed to notify all of you of my last post as well, so check out the one below this one…

I want to be better about informing you, and I want Fran to have a more complete record of her life in these important years.  Her birthday is September 13th, one day after my daughter.  She is 23 years old, still a few years older than most of her college mates who started right after high school.

As you may remember, she taught elementary school in remote pueblos for two years straight out of high school, then worked for about a year as a virtual slave here in Oaxaca.  I am not dramatizing! She made about 400 pesos, then $25 a week, and worked 6 or 7 days a week for 11 hours/day.  And then I met her, and all of you opened your hearts, and she started the life she was meant to live!  Thank you!

I got an interesting insight about a week ago, talking to a retired lawyer from Canada whose retirement income is far beyond mine.  He is spending 10,000 pesos a month (about $665) to send his "goddaughter" through medical school and paying all her expenses.  We are spending much, much less than that, about ¼.

But,

Fran must start English classes, and attend them for 2 years so that she can pass her English requirement. This class, unfortunately, is not offered at her school and must be taken separately. It costs 900 pesos per month, about $60.  For 2 years, that's $1,440.  If you can donate all or any portion of this per month, please let me know.  Maybe you know someone who would love to make a contribution to this young woman's future, in which case I encourage you to reach out.

Donations can be sent to:

http://franciscaeducationfund.weebly.com/donate.html

Now, a progress report.

Fran is in her second year of agronomy, and it has been an amazing transition from Computer Engineering! She is doing some heavy lifting of plants and animals, and seems much more absorbed in her work. As a computer engineering student, she sat at the dining room table with her computer for hour after hour tackling the challenge of math and programming, but it was more like a war than a vocation.  Now she spends equal time, but I can tell you that she is genuinely interested in what she is doing.  She definitely made a good decision to change her major!

I still worry about her, of course.  Not about her skills or commitment, but about the realities in Mexico. She is an indigenous woman. The economy sucks. That pretty much says it all.  She will sink or swim not only on the basis of the skills she will gain in school, but on her ability to network with her peers, to make a place for herself in the professional, competitive world of agriculture.  More and more women are going into agronomy, I hear, so hopefully my concerns are not as dire as I sometimes believe they are.

But then I look at the bright side!

The joy of all this is what she is learning! She is now aware of genetically modified foods and their effect on nutrition and the environment, how agronomy connects to feeding the world, plant and animal nutrition, care of animals (goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, etc) for food and byproducts, the anatomy of plants and animals, and things she hasn't told me about yet!

She is awaiting approval for her penultimate project, on granadas (pomegranates) which grow wild in her village.  She thought she was going to do chickens, but that topic had already been claimed by other students.

Fran is not only learning at school.  She now has a regular part time job with Luis Rene, El Dentista, as his dental assistant.  It is a job she is doing without a degree, but he finds her up to it, and very professional.  She has learned a lot about her capabilities, and enjoyed the challenge.  The job pays for her braces and a little cash on top of that for expenses. She comes home from school, takes a quick shower, dresses up very professionally and sweet smelling, and comes back between  9 and 10pm exhausted but satisfied.  This girl does not have a spare moment in her life.  Thank God for her youth and vitality!

In conclusion --

Fran continues to take full advantage of the opportunities we are providing her.  She just needs a little extra "umph" for the next 2 years.  Our joint financial situation could be characterized as "by the skin of  our teeth." We are making it, but just.  Our rent was recently raised by $2000 pesos a month, and all my efforts have gone into renting out our extra bedroom to cover that increase. Unfortunately, I can't extend one peso more for Fran's English class, so I am sending out this plea to our friends.  Thank you.